About Womens' Heart Program

Heart disease is a serious threat to the health of women.

• One in two women will eventually die of heart disease or stroke.
• After age 50, women begin to develop and die of heart disease at a rate equal to that of men.
• 38 percent of women who have heart attacks die within a year, compared to 25 percent of men.
• 63 percent of women who died suddenly from coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.
• Traditional diagnostic tests, including the exercise stress test, are less accurate in women. 
• Heart disease kills 500,000 women each year. That's more than the next seven causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.  Source:  American Heart Association

We know that knowledge is a woman's best defense against heart disease. Every woman should know how to protect her heart, and we can help.  Verde Valley Medical Center’s Womens' Heart and Health Screening Program offers women and the men in their lives a screening program that focuses on all of the major risk factors related to heart health including:

• Heart Health Questionnaire
• Resting EKG, interpreted by a board-certified cardiologist
• Body Mass Index (from height and weight measurements)
• Resting blood pressure and heart rate
• Fasting cholesterol test that includes total, LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and a total/HDL ratio
• Blood glucose test to screen for diabetes
• Private consultation with a health educator trained in cardiac risk factor management 

The screening, held in the cardiology department at Verde Valley Medical Center, costs only $40 and takes only 45 minutes, but the benefits last a lifetime. We hope to provide screening scholarships for low-income and disadvantaged women through the generosity of the Verde Valley Medical Center Foundation.